Rules Are Important When Playing With Dogs That Are Smarter Than You

My mom has a border collie. She’s had her since she was three weeks old. Since [Border Collie] was young, she has loved to play fetch. However, she has a tendency to jump on you to try to get the ball. My mother and I have come up with a way to combat this. We make [Border Collie] sit and stay until she hears the word “go.” If she moves at all before hearing go, we won’t throw the ball.

Whenever we have guests over, I explain the rules. 

Me: “Now, remember, don’t throw the ball if she moves before you say, ‘Go.’ She will try to test boundaries, but if you are firm the first couple of times, she’ll stop.”

Without fail, people start complaining that she is jumping on them when they are trying to play.

Me: “Did you let her move before you said, ‘go’?”

Them: “Yeah, it seemed like too much of a hassle.”

Me: “That’s why she’s jumping on you. You taught her that you will let her break the rules.”

Them: “I don’t think that’s it.”

And yet, anyone who followed the rules never had a problem with her jumping. Imagine that.

This story is part of our Border Collie roundup!

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